Using web platforms to promote transparency and strengthen land rights

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Emily Polack6 July 2016Author name

DateAuthor nameDate

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Emily Polack6 July 2016

Using web platformsto promotetransparency andstrengthen land rights

Legal Tools Webinar

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Emily Polack6 July 2016

Background

• Increasing number of online platforms providing information on land deals

• But what contribution are they making to legal empowerment?

• To be effective as a legal empowerment tool – for transparency, accountability, justice, and better land governance – some key issues need consideration:

• Reliability and credibility of data• Data types and level of detail• Maximising reach and reaching targets• Accessibility • Sustainability (ensure accuracy and usefulness over time)• Practical uses of or engagement with the data

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Emily Polack6 July 2016

Case examples

• Open Land Contracts: making investment contracts for large-scale land deals publicly available, plus legal analysis and advisory service

Speaker: Sam Szoke-Burke• Open Development Myanmar: documenting land

conflict in Myanmar; legal aid services; and fact-based stakeholder engagement for protecting land rights and improving land governance

Speaker: Wai Wai Lwin

IIED WebinarUsing web platforms to

promote transparency and strengthen land rights

Sam Szoke-BurkeColumbia Center on Sustainable Investment

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Large-scale land, agriculture, and forestry contracts

Outline

1. Investment contracts and agricultural projects

2. What is OpenLandContracts.org (OLC)?

3. How does OLC contribute to transparency?

4. Challenges5. Contributing to best practices?6. Practical uses of OLC

Contracts & agricultural projects

Agricultural projects are governed by many different legal frameworks. National laws of host state International law National laws of home state International standards and best practices Contracts between different players

Investment contracts (between host government and investor) Create additional obligations Can limit how domestic law applies (including laws on tax,

environment, and human rights) Usually negotiated without public participation Rarely published

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What is OLC?

OpenLandContracts.org is the first online, searchable, user-friendly repository of land contracts

The repository features publicly available contracts for large-scale land, agriculture, and forestry projects

It is freely available to all users

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What is OLC?

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What is OLC?

The OLC repository features:1.Full text of contracts2.Plain-language summaries (“annotations”) of each contract’s key social, environmental, fiscal, and operational provisions 3.Metadata, i.e. basic contract information (country, signature date, resource type, etc.) which is used to categorize contracts and improve searchability

Metadata / searching

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Annotations

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Objectives

OpenLandContracts.org aims to: 1. Promote greater transparency and

facilitate disclosure of land contracts2. Equip stakeholders with the tools and

resources necessary to effectively read and understand land contracts

3. Catalyze broader awareness of the implications of land contracts and their underlying deals

4. Demonstrate that land contract disclosure is both feasible and valuable

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http://www.open-contracting.org/2016/03/10/takeaways-from-eiti-2016-contract-transparency-is-becoming-norm/

Challenges Convincing governments to disclose

OLC does not leak contracts; we work with governments.

Reliability / credibility Contract disclosure policy Framing: the publicly available version may not be the final /

only version regulating the project

Dissemination to, and use by, affected communities Lack of web-connectivity Ability to batch download contracts and annotations

Lack of best practices Framing of OLC content: need to consider context, and listing

of contract is not endorsement.

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Contributing to best practice?

Demonstrating that transparency can help governments Raising awareness regarding practices of other

governments Providing a platform for affected communities to become

informed, and to use for advocacy or self-organization Awareness of contracting practices allows policy makers

and civil society to determine advocacy and reform priorities

No explicit endorsement: contracts need to be considered in their context

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Practical uses: OLC Mini-Grants Program

Two grants awarded to encourage innovative uses of OLC. CED, Cameroon testing guidance on understanding and

monitoring land contracts. Focusing on the SGSOC palm oil concession (see the SGSOC contract).

A journalist from Thompson Reuters Foundation will visit sites of several projects featured on OLC to compare the realities on the ground with the relevant contract and to create global discussions about transparency.

Contracts exercise can be incorporated in training and capacity building efforts — see http://www.openlandcontracts.org/page/resources

Other ideas? We would love to help.

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How can CSOs use OLC? OLC can be used as a tool for empowerment

Designed for users without legal training/experience Can help advisers / community members understand

contracts governing projects, and see what other governments are negotiating.

Can assist communities carrying out community-led monitoring efforts

Contracts are another source of enforceable rights. Communities can use them as a platform for

advocacy on legal reform, better contracting practices, a government’s failure to monitor and enforce contracts, etc.

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Thank you

s.burke@columbia.eduinfo@openlandcontract

s.org

Open Data Myanmar: Using web technology

to create transparent land

conflict information in

Myanmar 06 July 2016

Open Data Myanmar (ODM) (www.opendatamyanmar.com) --- Web-based database

To collect and document individual land dispute cases from across Myanmar

Focuses on conflicts between individuals and companies or government actors

Hopes to collect data from across the 14 states and regions in Myanmar, so as to be able to show patterns in land grabbing geographically

Most of the cases are related to investment projects

1) Addressing the lack of transparency in land conflicts and ensuring reliable and credible data Collecting info at field --- verified ---

analysed / extract --- import to offline database --- export to online database

Data displayed as “cases details” with (very draft Google) maps

ODM focused on collecting facts with strong evidence --- not story-based info

2) Promoting practical uses of the data

Legal literacy training with the affected community Highlighting strong and weak points in the

laws Empowering the community members with

the basic knowledge of laws and legal aspects

ODM offered a free comprehensive legal service to the affected communities Writing letters of complaint to relevant

authorities Representing them in mediation and court

cases

3) Influencing law/policy change and best practice relating to the governance of land based investments

Providing independent data which can be used by civil society, MPs and policy makers

Contribution towards the development of good policy and law

Info from the ground Supporting policy makers, NGOs and

donors to understand local land conflict dynamics

Cont.

Carrying out awareness raising with MPs, investors and other actors about the site

Created fact sheets which include a summary of the info by type of land grab, geographical area, and simple graphs

4) How can CSOs make use of ODM to protect the rights of citizens To provide independent data which can be

used by civil society, MPs and policy makers Build a picture of land grabbing across

Myanmar, and by developing more accurate data --- with proposed investment projects

To feed information directly from affected communities up to national level

Present more visual representation of the data and using maps

5) Challenges and Next Steps Due to the history of dictatorship and

a repression of freedom of speech in Myanmar

A climate of mistrust also meant that organisations and institutions

Little sharing of data between government departments

Detailed information from Google map is not available in Myanmar

Cont.

Continue to monitor previously documented cases

To improve data on land and the inter-ministerial sharing of info

Visiting the township offices with a lawyer helped --- to convince officials of the need to share data such as current land maps of the area

Offering an email update service Seminars Circulating info on social media